Carolyn Callahan, WABI, January 18, 2011 Bangor - For months, union nurses at Eastern Maine Medical Center in Bangor and hospital management have not seen eye to eye on several issues. Now, another complaint has been brought into the discussion. Last November, union nurses at Eastern Maine Medical Center held a one day strike saying they want better patient to nurse ratios. Representatives for the nurses union and the hospital still have not come to an agreement. ... Nurses

Meg Haskell, Bangor Daily News, January 18, 2011 Bangor - Nurses and administrators at Eastern Maine Medical Center are scheduled to return to contract talks January 31, but the Maine State Nurses Association on Tuesday announced the recent filing of an unfair labor practices complaint against the hospital. The complaint was filed last week with the National Labor Relations Board and alleges that the hospital discourages staff nurses from filling out a union document known as an “assignment despite objection” form when they feel their patient load puts patient safety at risk. ... EMMC

Jen Lynds, Bangor Daily News, December 9, 2010 Houlton - A fourth negotiation session Thursday evening, this one overseen by a federal mediator, failed to resolve a contract dispute between about 100 unionized nurses and administrators at Houlton Regional Hospital. A fifth meeting has been scheduled for January even though an extension of the existing contract will expire on December 31. The nurses agreed to the extension after their contract expired earlier this fall. Negotiations between the two parties started in November. ... Houlton

Dawn Gagnon, Bangor Daily News, December 8, 2010 Bangor - Despite another round of talks with the guidance of a federal mediator, Eastern Maine Medical Center and the unionized nurses who work there left the bargaining table Wednesday without a contract agreement. No date has been set for the next negotiating session, representatives from both sides said. Wednesday’s daylong negotiation session was the second since EMMC nurses staged a one-day strike on November 22, preceded by a two-day lockout. The hospital brought in 215 nurses from outside the area to staff the hospital during the strike. ... EMMC

Associated Press, November 29, 2010

Bangor - Negotiators for Eastern Maine Medical Center and the unionized nurses who work there returned to the bargaining table with a federal mediator and an official state observer on Monday in hopes of hammering out a new three-year contract for the nurses.

Late Monday afternoon, the two sides announced no agreement had been reached, but both expressed general hope that acceptable middle ground may yet be found. Talks will resume December 8.

EMMC nurses staged a one-day strike on November 22, preceded by a two-day lockout. The hospital brought in 215 nurses from outside the area to staff the hospital during the work stoppage. Monday’s talks were the first since the divisive episode.

Meg Haskell, Bangor Daily News, November 23, 2010 Bangor - Registered nurses at Eastern Maine Medical Center returned to their patients on Tuesday following a two-day lockout on Saturday and Sunday and a one-day strike on Monday. Though the drama of the three-day work stoppage and a flown-in work force of 215 temporary replacement nurses induced heated rhetoric and accusations of power mongering from both sides, Tuesday’s return to relative normalcy seemed to strike a chord of relief in anticipation of the Thanksgiving holiday. On Tuesday, Judy Brown, the outspoken president of the nurses’ labor union at EMMC, showed up for her 7 AM shift in the operating room ... EMMC

Wayne Harvey, WABI, November 22, 2010 Bangor - Nurses at Eastern Maine Medical Center are back to work Tuesday. Monday, they were on the picket line. The nurses say they want to keep this issue in the public, and they did so dressed for the weather outside the hospital to begin their one day strike. Unionized nurses gathered along state street before sunrise and stood with their signs amid the falling snowflakes, all to get their message out to those who went by. "We have no question that we're doing the right thing we know when we're short staffed," said EMMC Nurses Union President. ... Unionized

Meg Haskell, Bangor Daily News, November 22, 2010 Bangor - With hundreds of nurses picketing outside in a cold rain for increased staff, administrators at Eastern Maine Medical Center said Monday that a three-day nursing work stoppage that began Saturday morning and is scheduled to wrap up at 7 Tuesday morning has proceeded smoothly and without any significant disruptions in patient care. About 215 registered nurses from around the country were brought to Bangor to replace EMMC staff nurses during the work stoppage. ... EMMC

Jackie Ward, WLBZ-TV, November 22, 2010 Bangor - The dispute between the nurses union and Eastern Maine Medical Center in Bangor is coming to a head as the nurses walk the picket line. The nurses were on strike all day Monday. They were out on State Street at 6 a.m. and plan on staying out there until 10 PM. The main issue EMMC and the nurses union can't agree upon is staffing levels. The nurses say there simply aren't enough nurses to care for patients, putting their safety in jeopardy. EMMC says just within the past few weeks federal regulators gave them high praise regarding patient care and staffing. ... EMMC

Associated Press, November 22, 2010 Bangor - Nurses at the Eastern Maine Medical Center in Bangor are on strike. A number of nurses were picketing the hospital on Monday for what is supposed to be a one-day strike. The strike follows a two-day lock-out imposed by hospital administrators prior to the beginning of the strike. The hospital hired 215 replacement nurses to work during the lockout and strike. The nurses' contract with the hospital expired September 30. Among the issues separating the two sides were nurse staffing levels, health insurance costs and the practice of moving nurses from one specialty unit to another against their wishes.

Meg Haskell, Bangor Daily News, November 19, 2010 The Maine State Nurses Association announced Friday that it has filed an unfair labor practice charge against Eastern Maine Medical Center with the National Labor Relations Board. The complaint alleges the hospital engaged in delaying tactics by refusing to provide patient care records that would support the nurses’ assertion that chronic understaffing puts patient care at risk. Records sought by the MSNA include those showing exactly what time patients received ordered medications compared to the time physicians ordered the medications to be given and the incidence of adult patients being cared for on the pediatric ... Nurses

Meg Haskell, Bangor Daily News, November 19, 2010 Bangor - By early Friday afternoon, 215 registered nurses were either on their way to Bangor or already settling into area hotel rooms, preparing to take the place of staff nurses at Eastern Maine Medical Center, who will be shut out of the hospital for three days beginning Saturday morning. Stalemated over contract negotiations, about 830 EMMC nurses represented by the Maine State Nurses Association are scheduled to strike on Monday, November 22. ... Hospital

Maine State Nurses Association, November 21, 2010 “I would never vote to strike unless it meant better care for my patients!” - Jamie Hansen, RN CCU. The Maine State Nurses Association has been in negotiations with Eastern Maine Medical Center since July. As RNs, we want one thing: safer staffing for our patients, including more nurses and support staff on the floors, because we know that will lead to the better outcomes that our patients deserve, and we all want that. EMMC is not listening to our concerns over patient care. The appropriate level of care should be consistent and guaranteed because it is built upon strong staffing levels based on acuity that never fall below the safe minimums. ... EMMC

John Zierow, WCSH-TV, November 21, 2010 Bangor -The showdown between Eastern Maine Medical Center and the nurses union rose to another level Saturday. The hospital locked out the nurses and brought in replacement workers. Around 200 temporary, out of state nurses have been called in to care for patients. The lockout will last 48 hours but the nurses union is not planning to work the day after the lockout. Instead they will be carrying picket signs in protest. Many feel its a costly stand off that leaves patients at the hospital caught in the middle. Officials at the hospital say they have moved a small number of their patients to other hospitals to make the transition easier. ... EMMC

Meghan Hayward, WABI, November 20, 2010 Bangor - In their latest effort to show support for their fellow nurses, union nurses from Eastern Maine Medical Center, along with members of the community gathered Saturday morning outside the hospital as the night shift left work. Saturday marked the first day of a two day lock-out at Eastern Maine Medical Center. Replacement nurses are patrolling the halls of the hospital. ... Union